Heat Shock Proteins in Fish Health and Diseases: A Pharmacological Perspective

Disease outbreaks are considered one of the largest constraints for the sustainable development of the aquaculture sector. Though applications of antibiotics manage to control and prevent infectious microbial diseases, however, its extensive uses have also unavoidably resulted in the emergence of `superbugs' that resist conventional antibiotics. This calls for the development of new approaches for combating infections. Recently, heat shock proteins have been suggested to mediate the generation of strong innate and adaptive immune responses against many diseases in plants and terrestrial animals, leading to the formulation of strategies to fight infections. In this review, the potential of a new treatment, heat shock protein based therapy, for overcoming the menace of diseases in farmed aquatic animals of commercial importance are discussed.